CW80 work with Williams Amtrak?

It should be fine.  I run my Williams N&W J class on a CW-80 and haven't had any issues.

Video taken tonight - CW powered Wiiliams w/ 6 Lionel cars(5 lighted):

OK thanks Jake and Rob.

Oh man Rob watching that video really makes me want to do that right now.

Sleeper,

   If you have a good CW-80 you should be fine running your Williams.  Run the engine 1st and see how she does, then add the rolling stock.  If your CW-80 is one of the older faulty units, you will have problems right away, if the transformer is like Robs, it will run your Williams like a clock.   Good luck and have fun.

PCRR/Dave

That CW in my video has a 2003 build date.

Thanks Dave,

Actually I just bought the CW80 off of eBay. It was a really great price, but now that I’m looking at it, it’s a little different than my other CW80s. I noticed that it only has track connections on back without any accessory or fixed voltage terminals. 

I have my other CW80s still connected to my Christmas layout and bought this one as an extra, so I don’t know if it even works yet. Anyway I have to run off to work right this minute before I’m late and will check it out tonight

Sorry to have to tell you this but you do not have a Lionel CW-80. You have at best a "CW-40" rated at 40 watts output, or even a smaller one rated at 32 watts.

ADCX Rob:  That's a nice video and layout.  Thanks for sharing. 

What happened to your Santa Fe diesels that I can see laying on their side as the Williams flys by?  Did they get in trouble and need a timeout!!

Second try.

Here is a post written by a friend of mine some years ago on the other major three rail forum. I post it here to try to help folks who wish to buy one of those "small black transformers with the orange handle on the side" on the secondary market be able to know what they are actually seeing/getting.

About the only thing I would add to his 2008 post is that newer models of the real CW-80 will now operate on both 60 Hz current (standard in the USA) and ALSO on 50 Hz current which is standard in much of Europe.

-------------------Quote:

This post is intended to help owners and prospective buyers to distinguish among the several look-alike small transformers that Lionel® has produced in recent years. It is confined to the small "black ones with the orange handle on the side." The term "specs" will be used for "specifications" as transcribed from the official http://www.lionel.com/ website as of July 21, 2008.

These data are offered for reference only. I offer no opinions here.
Volt-Amps (VA) may be read as as "watts" more of less. V means volts; A means amperes or amps. All specs are alternating current.
Any of the following types may be found in "sets" or offered for individual sale by dealers, auction houses or private citizens. You need to know what you are getting:

1. CW-80 Revised. Product number 6-14198 Output Specs: 18 Volts, 80 Volt-Amps 5 Amperes. Has four output terminals on the back. Voltage of accessory output factory-set at 12 volts; can be changed by owner. Black posts marked "U" are "common;" Red posts marked "A" and "B" are "hot." "G" prefix to date code.

2. CW-80, early version.. Product number and specs exactly the same as above, but Black posts marked "U" are hot; Red ones marked "A" and "B" are common.

3. PowerMax 6-14275 18V 30VA 1.8A. No accessory terminals. Evidently post marked "U" is common, "A" is hot.

4. PowerMax Plus 6-24253 18V 40VA 2.4A. No accessory terminals. Posts as in 3 

          ================================================

In addition to the four listed above, there is also a Lionel controller with a relatively lightweight case that appears similar to the ones above, but which uses a separate power "brick":

5. BW-80 6-14003 18V 80VA 5A Has accessory terminals factory-set at 12 volts; cannot be changed by owner. Not known by author which terminals are common. Check with Owner's Manual or use ohmmeter.

The reason the green light on the CW-80 in ADCX Rob's video blinks a little at startup is the the transformer is nearing the outside limit of it's power band. Sir Isaac Newton pointed out that it takes more power to accelerate than it does to sustain linear motion. In practical terms this means that the locomotive needs more power to start up and to negotiate curves than it does meerely to keep going in a straight line.

The CW-80 is able to sustain an overload for a few seconds, but then the green light starts to blink a bit as the transformer prepares to "fold back" the power in order to protect itself. This is PERFECTLY NORMAL operation.

But look at the position of the orange throttle handle in the video: it is set for virtually full power. The CW-80 (or any transformer of similar power) is "happier" with single motor freight trains then it is with twin-motor illuminated passenger sets -- other things being equal.

 I have two CW-80s of almost exactly the same vintage as Rob's and they still perform flawlessly. (If you ignore the internal wiring screw-up, which actually causes no problems on simple layouts but can be a nuisance (or worse) in more complex ones. The G models corrected these problems, and the only remaining problems are the occasional factory production error or owner/shipping abuse.)

Thanks so much for sharing the information wolverine. I was actually looking for this information, because I have 2 of the older CW-80 and 1 of the new and I bought another from eBay that I haven’t received yet. I will probably copy and paste this into my notes for future reference.

I need to be able to figure out which is which so I can replace the correct one. I occasionally have problems with one transformer, but I mounted them together on a wheeled cart to push them under the Christmas layout and now I don’t know which is which.

I just rolled the 2333 set off the track to put the Trainmaster on.  The 2333 set with the lighted cars draws about 6 amps cold, 5 when warmed up. 

Not even close.  Full power would fly the the TM right off the O-36 curves.  Throttle was at 65-70.

6. GW-180 6-37947 18V 180VA 10A Has four output terminals on the back. The voltage of accessory output is factory set at 12 volts and can be programmed 0-18 volts by owner.

My 2010 era CW-80 will not cycle the DCU in my WBB 4-6-0 without a light in the circuit. No light and it's stuck in Forward. I hate this transformer incompatibility......

Dave that interests me because I use to my polar express get stuck in reverse and I thought it was something in the reversing unit. I then found that if I pulled the AC power cord and waited a few seconds before plugging it back in, everything would go back to normal

I have a 44 SF Ton by Williams and a CW-80 can't run it - trips trying to get started.  A MTH Z-1000 (100 watt) works no problem though.

Jim

The GW-180 may well be the very best iteration of the "black case with orange handle"  but is it actually going to be produced? It looks to me like an excellent modern replacement for the KW. But as far as this discussion is concerned, there certainly aren't any GW-180 transformers on the used or seconday market, and there weren't any when my friend originated this guide back in 2008. All of the others existed back then and still do.

As for the throttle setting (position of the orange handle) lets just chalk it up to low camera angle and lower lighting. But you made your point.

My old CW-80's will run my lone dual-motor Williams like a rocket with no load (that's why so many questions arise on the forums about how to slow one down); but with a full load of lighted passenger cars -- not so much, but enough. It's more than nice that the CW-80 will throttle down virtually to zero, agreed?

Also, my wife has an aversion to the grease prints that the F-3s leave behind on the carpet.

Rob,

  Yep you are living dangerously, my wife would have more than words with me for grease lines on her good formal living room wal to wall carpet.  Tell me where the funeral will be, I will make arrangement to attend.

PCRR/Dave